City builders
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 4 platforms: niche 51/100, demand 66/100, competition 57/100, development cost 48/100. On Steam: 1,751 games and 201,450 players online; 26% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $30.99.
Niche
51/100
Demand (0–100)
66/100
Competition
57/100
Dev cost
48/100
Spend per player
$30.99
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
26%
Key findings
- Ranked #43 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on itch.io (57/100) and weakest on Google Play (37/100).
- Competition is at a typical level: 57/100 vs a median of 57/100.
- Development is costlier than typical: index 48/100 vs a median of 39/100 — plan for more time and money.
- On Steam, 26% of games reached 500+ reviews — more often than usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 48% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 69/100 | 1,751 | 56/100 | 50/100 | 58/100 |
| itch.io | 75/100 | 3,252 | 56/100 | 57/100 | 45/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 66/100 | 86% | 79/100 | 37/100 | 45/100 |
| App Store | 53/100 | 49% | 38/100 | 57/100 | 43/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Sid Meier’s Civilization VIFiraxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux) · $59.99
Cities: SkylinesColossal Order · $29.99
Age of Empires II (Retired)Skybox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment, Ensemble Studios, Forgotten Empires · $19.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology